Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Polisario has beef with Elliott Abrams

Deservedly so, it would seem. Sahara-Watch busted out Saturday with a great post about Abrams, in charge of Near East and North Africa for the Bush National Security Council. Sahara-Watch does a better job of explaining, in detail, why Abrams is probably to blame for sabotaging the Western Saharan peace process. I'll review the main points.

-Abrams worked in the Reagan administration when it aided King Hassan of Morocco's occupation.

-He has a longstanding distaste for leftist causes, to the point of covering up El Salvadoran massacres of civilians. Since Morocco painted Polisario as Marxists (just as they're trying to use today's bugaboo, terrorism, to alienate potential Sahrawi supporters), there is little love lost between the Western Sahara and Abrams.

-He met with a Moroccan autonomy plan spokesman, lending the proposal much more credibility than it deserves.

Abrams was one of the top neocons rah-rahing the invasion of Iraq, working closely with Richard Perle and writing a letter to Bill Clinton calling for regime change. It's not a far leap to think he'd support any Arab client state, including Morocco, that asked for a little lenience on its own human rights issues in exchange for taking care of some of America's.

Speaking of which, this isn't related to Abrams but Sahara-Watch points it out in the post and it bears mentioning: Morocco is classified as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, which means our defense commitment to them is the same as to Japan or Australia. Shoot.

Abrams is a bad guy, but whether he's sabotaging the referendum process or not, the United States needs to answer for why it has been so reticent on the Western Sahara when there is so much to gain and practically nothing to lose. Morocco, practically an American (and French) proxy state, can't afford to lose Western support. So why don't we apply the right pressure?

Finally, I think it's compelling how much of the who-supports-Polisario guessing game that some people play revolves around famous friendships. Check out Chasli's comment on the post, and his speculation about whether John Bolton, a supposed Western Sahara supporter, could reconcile the disparate views of his friends James Baker (negotiator of the Baker II) and Abrams.

Some day, I will learn how to do jumps for long posts. Until then, though, let's hope that pro-Sahrawi congressional candidates are sent to Washington.

8 comments:

Sahara is Moroccan period ! traitors and algerian military regime go to hell ! Long Live Morocco United . Long live the King Mohammed VI...The Poliwhatever are too short to shake the Moroccan Giant! You were a fly on our shoulders in the seventies and your terrorist leader ( abdel aziz ) should be hanged like saddam Hussein for the crimes against civilian moroccans ..the camps of shame are nothing but an expression of the selfishness of a bunch of backward deserters ...you want a proof ? the proper father of the so called polisario leader is pround of his moroccaness and living , togther with his other sons in Morocco ..only the deserter ( traitor) left only to sacrifice himself to the filthy and dispecable regime of algeria ..now he is a marionette which has used up all its lies and slogans ...while making big fortune in Tenerifi , mauritania and elsewhere while the kids and women are leaving an unspeakable (life)under the blazing son of the desert ! You should be ashamed of yourself ! Abdel aziz's adventure is practically over ! Sahara has always been Moroccan ...Morocco needs no praise of its history for the longggggggggggggggggg string of its dynasties succeded each other and no history book ever mentioned something like polizarion , which by its name is a Spanish creation ! You may dream of sahara ...but no grain of its dunes will ever fall to your hands , traitors !

Can we all agree that that is the coolest post ever on One Hump? I think so. Whether this is someone who knows me personally and is playing a joke, or a legitimate wild-eyed Moroccan, good show. Forget Google rankings: the mark of a fancy blog is being told you're a sandless traitor.

I am thinking what "the sword of Ali" has achieved with that comment. A rational discussion, a constructive debate, a benefic exchange of opinions ? The answer is none od these. I have mentionned before that insults won't do any good to anybody. It applies both to morocco and Polisario supporters. Only one fact though is relevant in "The sword of Ali" comment: Mohamed Abdelaziz father lives in Morocco; in fact, I would add, he is member of the Moroccan CORCAS in charge of proposing an autononmy plan. Otherwise, the comment doesn't do any good.

off-topic...I found your blog because I'm reading Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat" and he said his daughter learned about her roomates in advance by googling them and since I couldn't remember any of my daughter's room mates names I did some friends kid's names and.....so, who am I? Also, I am most impressed with your blog and will spend some time catching up on your posts & Mahmood's Den is a favorite of mine although I think he caved.. a little, do you? I will also pass on your blog to another daughter of mine as she will be going to Morocco for her 'semester abroad' this year. Are you getting warmer...?